Down the Frozen River

Tag: Dylan Larkin

  • Why the Bruins probably shouldn’t pursue Dylan Larkin

    First of all, Dylan Larkin is good, not great.

    Now, that’s not to say he isn’t a top-six forward in the National Hockey League, but rather that he’s a first line center on the Detroit Red Wings and a very good second line center on any Stanley Cup-contending roster. 

    He’s the type of player that the Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights would be after on their way to their recent Stanley Cup Final appearances. 

    But there’s a clear difference between guys like Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, Aleksander Barkov, Connor McDavid and Larkin.

    There’s “generational talent” and then there’s “very high-skilled.”

    Larkin is more akin to Taylor Hall on the Hurricanes, for example. Both are great in their own right.

    Hall won the Hart Memorial Trophy in the 2017-18 season with the New Jersey Devils and was the 1st overall pick by the Oilers in the 2010 NHL Draft. He’s now in his first career Stanley Cup Final appearance in his 16th season in the league.

    Larkin has played 11 seasons, was drafted 15th overall by Detroit in 2014, and won gold with the U.S. men’s team in the 2026 Winter Games. He’s actually appeared in more Olympic games (six) than Stanley Cup Playoff games (five) since his NHL debut with the Red Wings in the 2015-16 season.

    Sure, Larkin would easily slide in as a first line center for the Boston Bruins, but are the Bruins that competitive of a team regardless of whether or not they were to acquire Larkin?

    Boston is not Colorado, Tampa, Florida, Edmonton, Carolina or Vegas.

    Trying to acquire Larkin means giving up components of the current roster and immediate future. It’s not as steep of an asking price as some might be touting, though others hold fast to the claim that Larkin is a franchise center.

    Larkin is a “franchise center” much in the sense that Shane Doan was the franchise player for the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes.

    Both players fall into a category of players that were loyal to a fault and played well enough to earn their rightful recognition, but never really broke out with all-time clutch performances that yielded Cup rings (in part because the teams they played for were never that competitive).

    Some might even look at David Pastrňák as being in the same position on the Bruins as Larkin is in Detroit the longer that Boston waivers in what Jeff Marek refers to as “the mushy middle.”

    Larkin is a six-time 30-goal scorer and recorded career-highs in assists (47) and points (79) in the 2022-23 season while notching a career-high 34 goals in 2025-26. He’s had 30 or more goals in the last five seasons and is pretty consistent in his offensive output with seven seasons of 63 or more points in his 11-year NHL career thus far.

    With the Bruins, there’s a chance Larkin could be viewed as a slightly more glorified David Krejčí. What Krejčí may have lacked in regular season performance from year-to-year, however, he made up for in the postseason— elevating his game to the next level.

    Acquiring Larkin runs the risk of becoming another Elias Lindholm on a roster that already has Elias Lindholm. He’s also signed for five more years through the 2030-31 season, which is the same length of time remaining on Lindholm’s contract.

    Larkin, of course, hasn’t seen action in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2016.

    There are no guarantees that Boston is prime for another playoff run in 2027.

    I’m a Red Wings fan, should I be mad about a player exercising their right that was previously negotiated in their contract?

    This isn’t the first time a player has appeared as though they’d like to play for one franchise their entire career and later altered their plans as dreams and desires ebb and flow in life.

    Dylan Larkin earned the right to negotiate a no-trade clause in his contract in accordance with what the players’ union and league itself collaborated on in the creation of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

    Had he pivoted after the first season of his current contract or sooner, I’d understand the annoyance of his perceived “bad faith” towards the Red Wings organization– the franchise itself, his teammates and the fans.

    But he spent the first three years of his current eight-year deal wearing Detroit’s crest with enough pride to be patient, if not begrudged, while Steve Yzerman worked to make the roster more aligned with playoff contenders.

    Ultimately, Yzerman’s best intentions in acquiring guys like Justin Faulk and David Perron approaching this year’s trade deadline weren’t enough to the satisfaction of Larkin.

    Despite spending most of the season in playoff position and having an ascribed leadership role as captain, Larkin and the Red Wings collapsed and missed the postseason yet again.

    Who is in the running in the Larkin sweepstakes?

    Helene St. James was first to report that Larkin submitted a list of a few teams he’d be willing to waive his no-movement clause for in the Detroit Free Press.

    St. James alluded to the usual candidates like the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights, while The Athletic‘s, Pierre LeBrun, simply confirmed that Yzerman received a “short list” of teams Larkin is willing to be traded to.

    LeBrun has since noted that there may be more than a few teams at play after Yzerman asked Larkin’s agent, Pat Brisson, to expand their original list.

    This means teams like the Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning and Utah Mammoth could try to make an effort to persuade Larkin by presenting Yzerman with an offer he (Yzerman in this case) can’t refuse.

    Larkin holds leverage over where he may ultimately end up before the 2027-28 season, since he has a full no-movement clause in the first five seasons of his current contract.

    By the 2028-29 season, however, Larkin will have to submit a list of 10 teams he would be willing to be traded to as the final three years of his current contract carries a modified no-trade clause.

    Steve Yzerman’s been through this before, right?

    Correct. He was general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning when Martin St. Louis asked to be traded for a chance at a second Cup ring as a player in 2014.

    Yzerman swapped captains with the New York Rangers, acquiring Ryan Callahan as part of a package in the St. Louis-Callahan trade.

    There were conditions attached to the draft picks involved, but the Bolts ultimately sent St. Louis to the Rangers with a 2015 2nd round pick in exchange for Callahan, a 2014 1st round pick, a 2015 1st round pick and a 2015 7th round pick.

    It’s fun to note that all of the draft picks involved in the St. Louis-Callahan trade were later flipped in other trades.

    Both the 2014 and 2015 1st round picks ended up being 28th overall in each draft and property of the New York Islanders, who drafted Joshua Ho-Sang and Anthony Beauvillier in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

    The 2015 2nd round pick was later traded to the Calgary Flames, who selected Oliver Kylington 60th overall. Meanwhile, the 2015 7th round pick ultimately ended up in Edmonton, where the Oilers drafted Ziyat Paigin 209th overall.

    St. Louis and the Rangers ended up losing in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final in five games against the Los Angeles Kings, while Callahan and the Lightning later eliminated the Rangers with a, 2-0, win on the road in Game 7 of the 2015 Eastern Conference Final.

    Though Tampa didn’t win the Cup while Yzerman was general manager, things worked out pretty well shortly afterwards in 2020 and 2021.

    Anyway, Yzerman is destined to trade yet another captain as a result of Larkin’s trade request.

    Yzerman’s main goal is maximizing the return on the deal and has no prerogative to rush things similar to how Joe Sakic handled the Matt Duchene trade almost a decade ago with the Colorado Avalanche after Duchene asked out.

    O.K., but do the Bruins have a shot?

    There’s no doubt that Don Sweeney will be one of 31 general managers who will do their “due diligence” in exploring the market for Dylan Larkin.

    But let’s keep in mind what some other teams have to offer.

    The Minnesota Wild could help Detroit’s goaltending woes by including Jesper Wallstedt in a potential Larkin trade. The Dallas Stars– should negotiations sour with Jason Robertson– could trade Robertson to the Red Wings as part of a Larkin trade.

    Both of those teams are Cup-contenders for the foreseeable future and can risk moving a young player in their burgeoning prime for Larkin to address a need down the middle and increase their depth for a Cup run.

    The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning have a decent stockpile of current and emerging surefire NHL talent to attract Yzerman.

    The Boston Bruins, meanwhile, do not.

    It’d be unwise to trade guys like James Hagens or Dean Letourneau for Larkin when the whole point of the retool is to get younger, faster and more skilled.

    How did it work for the last guy?

    Dylan Larkin is just the latest on the list of players that spent a decent amount of time with one organization only to be left burning bridges on their way out as a result of organizational ineptitude, lack of playoff success or lack of support for the player on or off the ice.

    Jack Eichel was drafted 2nd overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2015, and amassed 139-216–355 totals in 375 career games with Buffalo from 2015-21. Then the Sabres wouldn’t allow him to get surgery that had never been performed on an NHL player before.

    He was stripped of his captaincy, failed his physical and was placed on long-term injured reserve before the saga culminated in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on November 4, 2021.

    Buffalo sent Eichel to Vegas in a package that included Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch going to the Sabres, while Eichel was able to finally get the surgery he desired and later made his Golden Knights debut on February 16, 2022.

    Vegas acquired Eichel at a point where “average” NHL players are just starting to reach their prime. He was 25 when he made his Golden Knights debut in 2021-22, and won the Cup with Vegas the following season at 26.

    Elite players can tap into their prime anytime from when they’re drafted at 18 through 20-years-old and make it last into their mid-to-late 30s (think Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini or Patrice Bergeron, for example), while the average NHL player typically reaches their prime from about 25 through 32 or 33-years-old.

    Goaltenders are usually an outlier regardless, if you’re wondering.

    The Detroit Red Wings were around the playoff bubble— even on the right side of making the postseason early in Larkin’s NHL career— far more than the Buffalo Sabres had ever been during Eichel’s tenure with the team.

    When Buffalo drafted Eichel, they hadn’t made the playoffs since 2011.

    Detroit lost Nick Lidström to retirement in 2012, but still made the playoffs through Larkin’s first NHL season— dropping a First Round matchup in five games against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016.

    The Bolts had just made an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in 2015, so Detroit losing to a team that had much of the core in place that led Tampa to Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2015, 2020, 2021 and 2022, isn’t that surprising in hindsight. 

    Especially as the Red Wings veteran players were in the twilight years of their prime after Detroit won the Cup in 2008, before losing their rematch with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Final in 2009.

    More recently, Mitch Marner did a sign and trade on June 30, 2025, in order to get the maximum length of a contract and end up in a more desirable place than the Toronto Maple Leafs who were his hometown team growing up and drafted him 4th overall in 2015.

    Marner had 741 points (221 goals, 520 assists) in 657 games in Toronto after making his league debut in the 2016-17 season. He had a career-high 102 points in 81 games with the Maple Leafs in 2024-25, but at 27-years-old he had only advanced as far as the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs twice.

    Enter the Golden Knights, who, for Nicolas Roy, acquired Marner in the midst of his prime– similar to Eichel– and are now in the Stanley Cup Final in Marner’s first season with the organization.

    Oh, and it helps that Marner is a big part of why Vegas is in the Final against Carolina currently, since Marner has set a franchise record for the most points in a postseason for the Golden Knights with 10-19–29 totals in 20 games played at the time of this writing.

    Eichel, Marner and Larkin were all 1st round picks and in their prime at the time of their trades/upcoming trade, but Larkin is turning 30 on July 30th.

    He may only have two, three or four years tops in his prime remaining.

    How is this relevant to the Bruins?

    After being reverse-swept by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinal, the Boston Bruins needed a little bit of a shakeup.

    Everyone in the organization wanted to not just avenge the series loss to the Flyers, but exceed external expectations and win the whole damn thing.

    So then-general manager, Peter Chiarelli, faced a situation not entirely dissimilar to Don Sweeney’s current Mason Lohrei problem.

    Dennis Wideman wore No. 6 in a Bruins sweater long before Lohrei donned it for the first time in the 2023-24 season. Wideman wore it with pride from the 2006-07 season through the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Wideman was an offensive defender with 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in 81 games for Boston in his first full season with the club in 2007-08. He improved to a career-high 50 points (13 goals, 37 assists) in 79 games the following year as the Bruins finished one point shy in the entire league standings of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning San Jose Sharks in 2008-09.

    Then Wideman dropped to 6-24–30 totals in 76 games with Boston in 2009-10.

    Despite an impressive 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in 13 playoff games that spring, Wideman’s plus/minus rating had gone from a plus-32 in the regular season in 2008-09, to a minus-14 in 2009-10.

    Now, plus/minus isn’t everything, but a drop like that is pretty significant.

    His mistakes became glaringly obvious. He shot the puck wide, man. It was in his name all along!

    He was also 26-years-old by the end of the 2009-10 season. Coincidentally, Lohrei will be 26 by the end of the 2026-27 season.

    Chiarelli needed to boost Boston’s offense while the defense would take care of itself as a young Johnny Boychuk had emerged during the 2009-10 season— complimenting the rest of the blue line in Zdeno Chára, Andrew Ference, Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid pretty well.

    The Bruins had a style that Wideman just… …didn’t fit.

    So Chiarelli traded Wideman, a 2010 1st round pick and a 2011 3rd round pick to the Florida Panthers for Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell.

    Horton was the 3rd overall pick in the 2003 NHL Draft. In his first season with the Panthers, he had 14-8–22 totals in 55 games played in 2003-04.

    He doubled his scoring output after the 2004-05 lockout canceled season with 28 goals and 19 assists (47 points) in 71 games with Florida in 2005-06.

    Horton continued to be a consistent scorer for the Panthers at a time where the team never made the playoffs in his Florida tenure.

    Though he only reached the 30-goal plateau once in his career (31 in 2006-07), he had the knack for scoring clutch goals when the Panthers needed it most.

    He was also only 25-years-old when the Bruins acquired him on June 22, 2010. That’s five years younger than what Dylan Larkin is going to be by the time Larkin hits the ice this fall.

    Of course, if you’re a Bruins fan reading this, you already know that Horton and Co. won the Cup in 2011, and appeared in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final.

    Boston acquired Horton in the midst of his prime and got the most out of him before he left in free agency while injuries ultimately ended his career prematurely.

    But the Bruins aren’t a Cup-contender currently?

    Yes, exactly! You’re catching on. Good for you.

    Boston can’t make the jump next season like they did from 2009-10 to 2010-11.

    The Bruins signed Elias Lindholm to a seven-year contract at the age of 29, on July 1, 2024– two years after he amassed career-highs in goals (42), assists (40) and points (82) with the Calgary Flames in 82 games in 2021-22.

    In 13 NHL seasons since making his league debut with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2013-14, Lindholm has only reached the 70-point plateau twice.

    His production with the Flames reached a pinnacle in 2021-22, and fell to 64 points the following season before splitting time between Calgary and the Vancouver Canucks after being traded during the 2023-24 season. That year, Lindholm had 15-29–44 totals in 75 games with the Flames and Canucks.

    He registered 47 points in 82 games with Boston in his first season, but injuries kept reappearing in his sophomore season as a Bruin– limiting him to 69 games in the regular season in 2025-26, though he managed to record 48 points in the process.

    If he had been completely healthy, Lindholm probably would’ve finished with just shy of 60 points.

    There’s just one problem– that’s not good enough for a first or second line center. Especially if you’re looking at adding Dylan Larkin to the equation to answer the question “who will replace Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí as the No. 1 and No. 2 centers in Boston?”

    It gets even worse if you clog up the opportunities that should otherwise go to someone like Fraser Minten or James Hagens to grow into if you have any hope for either or both to become the long-term plan down the middle.

    Remember how Charlie Coyle was deadweight in the middle of the lineup by the end of his Boston tenure? Lindholm and Larkin could expedite that– especially if they can’t keep up with the wingers around them at a time where you’re looking to capitalize on speed and skill by the midpoint of their current contracts.

    Lindholm was signed via free agency in the twilight of the average NHLers’ prime.

    It’s not worth overpaying for a step above Lindholm for the sake of saying “well, at least he’s better than him and gives us a little more depth down the middle.” Especially if the cost outweighs the reward.

    O.K., but I’m still reading this and my team isn’t the Bruins, so what if you’re trying to win the Cup as soon as possible?

    Well, buyer beware.

    Dylan Larkin would be a great addition to a Cup-contending team that needs a second line center.

    If you’re trying to recreate what the St. Louis Blues did when they acquired Ryan O’Reilly from the Buffalo Sabres ahead of the 2018-19 season, you should note that O’Reilly was turning 27 at the time and had more prime left in the tank than Larkin currently has in his.

    O’Reilly could play up in the lineup because he was a force and not just a nice complimentary asset to have in the arsenal.

    Speaking of St. Louis, it’d be great if you could simply pry Robert Thomas from the Blues. But Andy Strickland has already reported that Thomas isn’t going anywhere and will be on the St. Louis roster when training camp begins in September.

    Jordan Kyrou, on the other hand….

    That’s who you should want to target if you’re the Bruins or any team, for that matter.

    Kyrou is only 28-years-old and has 67 or more points in four out of the last five seasons. That’s some pretty good consistency that will lend itself to being the type of player that still amasses about 50 points a year even after he turns 33 or 34.

    Maybe he’ll do that even up to about the time he’s 37. He could pull a Joe Pavelski and just go off on a scoring tangent.

    Winning trades isn’t always immediate

    Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but if you’re the Boston Bruins in a retool looking to get better long-term, you want to acquire someone that is already on the cusp of or in the midst of their prime between the ages of, say, 20 and 26.

    The Montréal Canadiens acquired Nick Suzuki and Tomáš Tatar as part of the package from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Max Pacioretty on Sept. 9, 2018.

    Suzuki had just been drafted 13th overall by Vegas in 2017, and was a promising young center that wouldn’t make his NHL debut with Montréal until the 2019-20 season at 20-years-old.

    He put up 41 points in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season and another 41 points in the 56-game 2020-21 season before amassing 61 points in 2021-22, 66 points in 2022-23, 77 in 2023-24, 89 in 2024-25 and breaking the 100-point plateau with 29-72–101 totals in 2025-26.

    He’s a 26-year-old that’s really just getting started in the early part of his prime and now has won the Frank J. Selke Trophy– living up to the comparisons to Patrice Bergeron when he was drafted by the Golden Knights and later introduced to the Canadiens’ prospect pipeline.

    Boston would benefit significantly in any trade where they identify the type of player like Suzuki that’s ready-now or growing into their prime and will become certified top-talent on their roster.

    So you need another Fraser Minten, right? And a little patience. You know, like how the Canadiens did with Suzuki.

    The Bruins swindled the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Brandon Carlo trade that yielded Boston Minten and draft picks in return.

    There are contenders willing to part with decent prospects or young players all around– just look at how the Colorado Avalanche jettisoned Cal Ritchie to the New York Islanders for Brock Nelson or how the Dallas Stars parted with Logan Stankoven in the Mikko Rantanen trade (part II) with the Carolina Hurricanes.

    This is where offer sheets get interesting this summer and Mason McTavish becomes somewhat of a desirable solution on the trade market with the Anaheim Ducks.

    Anaheim is looking to take the next step up in their game and postseason plans, while McTavish could use a little bit of a reset and probably a ceiling adjustment.

    You could likely convince the Ducks to take someone like Mason Lohrei or Pavel Zacha as a starting point for the frameworks of a trade.

    At 23-years-old, McTavish is still entering his prime, though if he were to be an annual 50-point scorer for the next decade, that’s probably better than what you’d get out of Dylan Larkin by the end of Larkin’s current contract.

    If anything, McTavish gives you a certified middle-six forward while your top prospects in James Hagens, Dean Letourneau, Will Zellers and young players like Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov sort themselves out among the first and second lines with David Pastrňák leading the way as your most important player, if not captain, of the franchise long-term.

    But we already have Nick Suzuki at home

    Look, I love Matthew Poitras dearly and I’m not opposed to saying “just give him a little more time,” but if Boston won’t give him a chance on the NHL roster full-time in 2026-27, well, we have a major philosophical development problem to address.

    Missing out on Larkin would be fine

    I would’ve loved to have signed Marián Hossa when he hit free agency after losing back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances with Pittsburgh and Detroit in 2008 and 2009, but he was never coming to Boston with the way the roster looked at the time.

    Sometimes the seemingly right player just isn’t available at the right time.

    Yeah, the Bruins could’ve signed Hossa, but what kind of butterfly effect would that have had on the Dennis Wideman trade for Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell?

    And, you know, quite literally everything else given the salary cap space that Hossa’s contract would’ve eaten up.

    It’s a lot like when John Tavares hit free agency and left the Islanders for the Leafs.

    Sure, the Bruins could have made an attractive offer, but how would their hands have been tied in the process thereafter?

    That, and David Krejčí already existed in the presumptive role for Tavares.

    In any case, this is going to be quite an offseason, isn’t it?

    Yeah.

    It’s fair to ask “what, exactly, is the current core of the Boston Bruins?” when another year has come and gone for guys like David Pastrňák, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman, while Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm, Hampus Lindholm and others sort themselves out as they’re pressured by younger talent in Fraser Minten, Marat Khusnutdinov, James Hagens and the next prospect up.

    That’s the part that’s going to be quite a balancing act for Don Sweeney.

    It wouldn’t hurt the Bruins to have a guy like Viktor Arvidsson around as a stable, veteran presence in the dressing room, but at what cost for the pending-unrestricted free agent and with how many other guys already like him on the roster?

    Many of whom are expendable by the 2027 trade deadline if the playoffs aren’t looking likely.

    How much of the forward progress that occurred for Boston from 2024-25 to 2025-26, was a direct result of trading everyone they did and adding to their prospect pool and draft pick capital leading up to the 2025 trade deadline?

    There’s a difference between “draft capital” and “draft capital surplus” when making a big move to acquire a player in their prime that can make an immediate impact on your roster.

    The former implies that your organization has a stockpile of prospects that you’ve hit on or are developing in a timely manner and can move on from early enough into their professional careers to maximize value and meet your trading partner where they’re at in acquiring certified high-end talent.

    But you can’t make too many of those moves without running the risk of stunting your own organizational growth and development in the depth charts.

    You also don’t have tremendous draft capital if your prospects are four years out or more from their draft year, like Fabian Lysell.

    The latter implies that you have three first round picks in the next draft or two— or something like that— where you can create mobility in the upcoming first round to land a core piece. That, or you can flip anyone with one of those first round picks and still be able to incorporate whoever else you draft and develop within the usual timeframe from draft day to NHL regular.

    Right now, the Bruins would be better off continuing to build the foundation of prospects and picks— especially since they haven’t had a lot of hits in recent years.

    Taking the best available is a good strategy, though ensuring that the best prospects truly live up to their potential is a whole other story.

    Boston is going to need to have a difficult conversation with many coaches, scouts and development staff members outside of goaltending coaches this summer.

    It’s time to start producing results or someone else will do it for you while you update your LinkedIn profile.

  • Nedeljkovic makes a career-high 47 saves in, 5-3, victory for Detroit

    Nedeljkovic makes a career-high 47 saves in, 5-3, victory for Detroit

    Alex Nedeljkovic had an assist on the empty net insurance goal and made a career-high 47 saves on 50 shots against, while Jakub Vrana’s third period power-play goal proved to be the eventual game-winner in the Detroit Red Wings’, 5-3, win against the Boston Bruins Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena.

    Nedeljkovic improved to 18-21-8 on the season with a 3.31 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage in 52 games played after his 47-save performance on Tuesday.

    Bruins goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (20-10-3, 2.29 goals-against average, .918 save percentage in 34 games played), stopped 24 out of 28 shots faced in the loss.

    Boston fell to 44-21-5 (93 points) on the season and dropped to 4th place in the Atlantic Division by virtue of having played one more game than the Tampa Bay Lightning (93 points in 69 games to Boston’s 93 points in 70 games played).

    Detroit, meanwhile, improved to 27-34-9 (63 points) overall, but remained in 5th place in the Atlantic– 30 points outside of a divisional playoff spot and 21 points shy of the Washington Capitals for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

    The B’s fell to 3-4-1 in eight games at Little Caesars Arena all-time, while also splitting their 2021-22 regular season series with the Red Wings (2-2-0).

    The Bruins went 1-2-0 against Detroit in 2019-20, and did not meet the Red Wings in the condensed 56-game regular season in 2020-21.

    Boston was without the services of Jakub Zboril (right ACL), Trent Frederic (upper body) and David Pastrnak (undisclosed) on Tuesday.

    Frederic skated before Tuesday night’s matchup on the road, though there is no timetable for his return.

    Meanwhile, Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, was forced to shake up his lines– promoting Tomáš Nosek to the second line right wing in Pastrnak’s normal spot, while forming a fourth line consisting of Jack Studnicka at center– flanked by Anton Blidh and Marc McLaughlin on his wings.

    Nick Foligno took Frederic’s spot on the third line as a result, while Curtis Lazar joined Josh Brown and Connor Clifton on Boston’s list of healthy scratches in Detroit.

    On defense, Mike Reilly slid over into Brown’s spot on the third defensive pairing with Derek Forbort re-entering the lineup.

    Early in the opening frame, Taylor Hall drove a rush into the attacking zone before sending the puck through the high slot to the opposite wing where Erik Haula (13) caught the pass and unloaded a wrist shot on Nedeljkovic’s far blocker side into the twine– giving Boston a, 1-0, lead as a result.

    Hall (37) and Nosek (13) tallied the assists as the Bruins jumped out to the first lead of the night at 4:43 of the first period.

    Midway through the first period, McLaughlin caught Adam Erne with an inadvertent high stick and was assessed a minor infraction as a result at 13:44.

    The Red Wings did not convert on the ensuing power play and, while Boston’s penalty kill proved to be very successful– scoring a shorthanded goal in the process, in fact.

    Detroit made a turnover in the neutral zone leading to a 2-on-1 for the Bruins featuring Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand before the B’s yielded a couple of chances prior to Forbort setting up Brandon Carlo (6) for a shot past Nedeljkovic’s stick side and a two-goal lead as a result.

    Forbort (8) and Bergeron (35) had the assists on Carlo’s second career shorthanded goal (his first since Jan. 2017 in Detroit)– tying the young defender’s career-high in goals scored in a season (six in 2016-17) in the process as well at 14:17.

    The Bruins led, 2-0, but they’d go on to give up four unanswered goals before hitting the back of the twine once more for the rest of the night.

    Charlie McAvoy was assessed a roughing minor at 17:18 and the Red Wings almost capitalized on the ensuing power play.

    McAvoy was released from the box without issue at 19:18, but the Bruins were caught in the vulnerable minute after special teams action and gave up yet another last-minute goal in any period as Moritz Seider setup Dylan Larkin (30) for a quick release from the right circle past Swayman.

    Seider (40) and Lucas Raymond (31) notched the assists on Larkin’s goal and Detroit cut Boston’s lead in half, 2-1, at 19:20 of the first period.

    Entering the first intermission, the Bruins led, 2-1, on the scoreboard and held an, 18-12, advantage in shots on goal.

    The Red Wings led in blocked shots (5-2), giveaways (4-3) and hits (11-8), while the B’s led in takeaways (3-1) and faceoff win percentage (52-48).

    Detroit was 0/2 on the power play, while Boston had yet to see any time on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

    The Bruins would have an early power play at 1:22 of the second period, however, as Pius Suter tripped McAvoy and yielded a skater advantage to Boston as a result.

    The B’s failed to conver on the power play, however.

    Shortly thereafter, the Bruins failed to clear their own zone and the Red Wings kept the puck in by the blue line before working a shot that deflected off of a body in front of the net into the back of the twine courtesy of Michael Rasmussen (11) being in the right place at the right time on Swayman’s doorstep.

    Erne (12) and Danny DeKeyser (8) tallied the assists on Rasmussen’s goal as Detroit tied things up, 2-2, at 5:46 of the second period.

    A couple minutes later, Jake Walman cut a rut to the sin bin for holding at 7:48, but Boston wasn’t able to convert on the ensuing power play.

    Midway through the middle frame, Nedeljkovic gave up a rebound that worked to the advantage of the Red Wings as they were quick to recover the loose puck in the slot and go end-to-end as Suter sent it up to Vrana before Vrana setup Filip Zadina (9) on a one-timer goal with Forbort taking the bait and Reilly out of position by default as a result.

    Vrana (4) and Suter (17) had the assists on Zadina’s goal as the Red Wings went ahead, 3-2, at 11:32 of the second period.

    Late in the period, Foligno hooked Seider and was sent to the box at 19:07, but Detroit wasn’t able to convert on the resulting skater advantage.

    Through 40 minutes of action, the Red Wings led, 3-2, on the scoreboard, despite trailing Boston, 33-24, in shots on goal– including a, 15-12, advantage for the Bruins in shots on goal in the second period alone.

    The B’s also led in takeaways (3-2) and faceoff win% (59-41), while Detroit held the advantage in blocked shots (6-4), giveaways (11-5) and hits (21-17).

    The Red Wings were 0/3 and the Bruins were 0/2 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    McAvoy caught Raymond with a high stick at 3:27 of the third period and Detroit made sure to capitalize on the ensuing power play.

    It didn’t take the Red Wings long before Filip Hronek passed the puck to Vrana (8) as he was charing through the neutral zone with a burst of speed into the attacking zone before sending a shot past Swayman– high on the blocker side.

    Hronek (31) and Walman (5) had the assists on Vrana’s power-play goal and Detroit took a two-goal lead, 4-2, at 4:08 of the third period.

    Moments later, DeKeyser cut a rut to the sin bin for interference at 8:46, but the Bruins couldn’t convert on the resulting skater advantage.

    Shortly thereafter, Boston tweeted that Hampus Lindholm would not return to the night’s action with a lower body injury.

    The recently acquired defender did not make an appearance in the third period and Cassidy told reporters after the game that he didn’t think Lindholm would be out for long-term.

    Moments later, DeKeyser was heading back into the box for hooking at 11:58, but Boston’s ensuing power play was cut short as Hall hooked Walman at 12:46.

    The Bruins withstood Detroit’s abbreviated power play after 1:12 of 4-on-4 action.

    With 3:36 remaining in the game, Cassidy pulled Swayman for an extra attacker.

    Marchand and Larkin received slashing minors shortly thereafter at 16:45 and yielded 4-on-4 action once again.

    While at even strength at 4-on-4, the Bruins went to work in the attacking zone with Swayman pulled for a de facto 5-on-4 advantage.

    McAvoy riffled a shot from the point that Bergeron (19) redirected in the slot past Nedeljkovic on the lower left pad to bring the Bruins to within one.

    McAvoy (42) and Hall (38) notched the assists on Bergeron’s goal and the B’s trailed, 4-3, at 17:24.

    As a result of his goal in Tuesday night’s loss, Bergeron (394) is now one goal away from tying Ray Bourque (395) for the fourth-most goals in Bruins franchise history.

    With 1:29 remaining in regulation, Swayman vacated the crease once more for an extra attacker, but it was ultimately to no avail as a deflected shot led to a slow roller in front of Nedeljkovic whereby the Detroit goaltender was able to corral the rubber biscuit without issue.

    Nedeljkovic sent a pass up to Sam Gagner in the neutral zone before Gagner (9) buried the puck into the empty net in Boston’s own end to give the Red Wings a, 5-3, advantage on the scoreboard as Nedeljkovic (2) recorded the only assist on Gagner’s empty net goal at 19:13.

    At the final horn, Detroit had won, 5-3, despite finishing the night trailing, 50-29, in shots on goal.

    A scrum after the game also resulted in a few punches thrown and some wrestling matches resulting in a plethora of penalties at 20:00 of the third period.

    Blidh picked up a slashing minor and a misconduct as Forbort was assessed a misconduct for Boston, while Rasmussen earned a slashing minor and a misconduct for Detroit officially at the 60-minute mark of the game.

    Boston left Little Caesars Arena leading in faceoff win% (60-40), while the Red Wings exited their own ice with the advantage in blocked shots (9-7), giveaways (15-5) and hits (31-28).

    Detroit finished the night 1/5 on the power play, while the Bruins went 0/4 on the skater advantage on Tuesday.

    Boston fell to 32-8-2 (17-4-1 on the road) when scoring first, 25-3-1 (13-2-1 on the road) when leading after one period and 4-16-2 (1-7-1 on the road) when trailing after two periods this season.

    The Red Wings improved to 9-25-6 (7-9-4 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 5-23-3 (3-9-1 at home) when trailing after one period and 20-2-3 (14-1-2 at home) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

    The Bruins visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday before concluding their four-game road trip (1-1-0) at Capital One Arena against the Washington Capitals Sunday afternoon.

    Boston returns to TD Garden for a three-game homestand beginning on April 12th against St. Louis.

  • Secondary scoring catapults Bruins to, 5-1, victory in Detroit

    Secondary scoring catapults Bruins to, 5-1, victory in Detroit

    The Boston Bruins scored five unanswered goals after giving up the game’s first goal to beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-1, at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday.

    Usual suspects, Patrice Bergeron and Charlie McAvoy, each had a goal, while Erik Haula, Trent Frederic and Tomáš Nosek chipped in tallies of their own– ending scoring droughts of varying lengths.

    Jeremy Swayman (8-5-2, 2.20 goals-against average, .920 save percentage in 15 games played) made 23 saves on 24 shots against en route to the win for Boston.

    Detroit netminder, Alex Nedeljkovic (9-8-3, 2.89 goals-against average, .913 save percentage in 22 games played), stopped 32 out of 37 shots faced in the loss.

    The B’s improved to 16-10-2 (34 points) on the season and jumped ahead of the Red Wings for 4th place in the Atlantic Division standings.

    For the second time this season, Boston is in a playoff position– holding onto the second wild card in the Eastern Conference as of this writing.

    Detroit, meanwhile, fell to 15-15-3 (33 points) and dropped to 5th place in the Atlantic as a result.

    Boston is 2-1-0 against the Red Wings this season with one final matchup remaining in their regular season series scheduled for April 5th in Detroit.

    The Bruins were without the services of Jakub Zboril (right ACL), Karson Kuhlman (COVID protocol) and Curtis Lazar (undisclosed) on Sunday, while head coach Bruce Cassidy made one change to his lineup as a result.

    Oskar Steen went in place of Lazar on the fourth line, having been recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) to the taxi squad after Saturday afternoon’s, 4-3, overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres and subsequently recalled from the taxi squad on Sunday prior to the warmup in Detroit.

    Cassidy made no other changes to his lineup with Swayman getting the start over Linus Ullmark after Ullmark got the win in Saturday’s matinée.

    John Moore (taxi squad) and Anton Blidh were the only healthy scratches for Boston on Sunday.

    Robby Fabbri interfered with Brandon Carlo away from the puck and presented the Bruins with the afternoon’s first power play at 1:13 of the first period but the B’s couldn’t muster anything on the ensuing skater advantage.

    A few minutes after Fabbri cut a rut to the box, Nosek skated off to the visiting penalty box for catching Tyler Bertuzzi with a high stick at 4:20 (whether Nosek actually made contact with his face or not– Bertuzzi might have clipped himself, though Nosek may have initiated it with a stick lift).

    The Red Wings didn’t score on their first power play of the afternoon, regardless.

    Midway through the opening frame, Danny DeKeyser sent a shot on goal that rebounded off of Swayman towards the sideboards before Bertuzzi (13) intercepted the loose puck and buried it in the twine to give Detroit a, 1-0, lead.

    DeKeyser (3) and Dylan Larkin (15) tallied the assists on Bertuzzi’s goal– his fourth in four games– at 11:28 of the first period.

    A few minutes after Bertuzzi scored, Boston answered.

    Brad Marchand battled along the boards as Craig Smith came away with the puck before setting up Bergeron (11) for the one-timer goal while crashing the slot.

    Smith (6) and Marchand (19) had the assists as the Bruins tied the game, 1-1, at 14:47 of the first period.

    Late in the period, Nick Foligno shoved Filip Hronek in front of the net and delivered a swift cross check as the two escalated their battle.

    Foligno, as a result, received a minor infraction for cross checking at 19:32 and the ensuing power play spilled over into the middle frame.

    Detroit, however, didn’t capitalize on the skater advantage that was stretched over two periods with the first intermission in-between.

    After 20 minutes, the game was tied, 1-1, despite Boston leading in shots on goal, 15-6.

    The Bruins also led in blocked shots (6-4) and giveaways (2-1), while the Red Wings led in hits (9-6) and faceoff win percentage (53-47).

    Both teams had one takeaway each and were powerless on their respective power plays as Detroit was 0/2 and Boston was 0/1.

    Marchand got tangled up with Vladislav Namestnikov early in the middle frame as the two exchanged blows, slashes and ultimately fists, yielding majors for fighting and minors for slashing at 2:59 of the second period.

    It was the sixth fighting major of the season for Boston and first since Foligno fought New York Islanders forward, Matt Martin, on Dec. 16th at UBS Arena.

    A few minutes later, pleasantries continued to be trending in the action as Swayman delivered a quick blow to Sam Gagner, resulting in a little retaliatory effort on Gagner’s behalf, as well as 4-on-4 action for two minutes as each player received unsportsmanlike conduct minors.

    Haula served Swayman’s penalty, while Gagner served his own at 5:24 of the second period.

    Shortly after both teams got their skater back from the sin bin, the Red Wings wired a shot wide of the net and around the glass where Haula was waiting by the blue line to break through the neutral zone.

    Haula (2) sped down the ice and free from any defender before crossing into the attacking zone and zipping a wrist shot over Nedeljkovic’s high glove side to put the Bruins ahead, 2-1, at 7:37 on an unassisted effort.

    It was also his first goal in 15 games.

    About a minute later, Frederic cross checked Moritz Seider and took his trip to the penalty box at 8:47, but the Red Wings went scoreless on the resulting power play yet again.

    Late in the second period, Jake DeBrusk caught Joe Veleno with a hook and brought the Detroit forward down before being sent to the box at 15:50.

    Once more, the Red Wings went powerless on the power play, however.

    The B’s carried a, 2-1, lead on the scoreboard through two periods and led in shots on goal, 23-16, despite being outshot by Detroit, 10-8, in the middle frame alone.

    Boston also maintained control of blocked shots (11-5), while the Red Wings led in takeaways (2-1), giveaways (3-2), hits (16-9) and faceoff win% (54-46).

    Neither team could buy a power play goal heading into the second intermission as Detroit was 0/4 and the Bruins went 0/1 on the skater advantage.

    Boston got out of the gate on all cylinders to start the final frame.

    Taylor Hall sent a pass to McAvoy (5) as the Bruins defender pinched in from the point on the right side for a catch and release goal over the glove from close range to extend the Bruins’ lead to two-goals at 5:59 of the third period.

    Hall (10) and Charlie Coyle (8) notched the assists on McAvoy’s goal as Boston took a, 3-1, lead.

    Almost two minutes later, Frederic (1) buried a rebound off of a shot by Mike Reilly from the point while Nedeljkovic was left playing catch up and extended the B’s lead to three goals at 7:55 of the third period.

    Reilly (3) and Nosek (3) were credited with the assists on Frederic’s first goal of the season as the Bruins pulled ahead, 4-1, with a pair of goals in a span of 1:56.

    Minutes later, Boston ended up scoring three goals in less than five minutes (4:41, to be exact) as Steen sent Nosek (3) into the attacking zone for a shot that slipped through Nedeljkovic’s five-hole at 10:39.

    Steen (3) and McAvoy (15) had the assists on Nosek’s first goal since Nov. 20th in Philadelphia and the B’s led, 5-1.

    About half a minute later, DeKeyser was sent to the box for holding, but the Bruins couldn’t capitalize on the resulting power play at 11:01.

    Detroit resumed full strength then quickly went back on the penalty kill due to a minor infraction when Namestnikov tripped up DeBrusk at 13:15.

    Once more, however, Boston didn’t score on the ensuing skater advantage.

    At the final horn, the Bruins had sealed the deal on back-to-back wins on back-to-back days with a, 5-1, victory on the road in Detroit.

    The B’s left Little Caesars Arena with the lead in shots on goal, 37-24– including a, 14-8, advantage in the third period alone– as well as the lead in blocked shots (14-10).

    The Red Wings, meanwhile, exited their own building leading in giveaways (4-2), hits (26-15) and faceoff win% (51-49).

    Neither team scored a power play goal on Sunday afternoon as Detroit went 0/4 and Boston went 0/3 on the skater advantage.

    The Bruins improved to 6-6-2 (2-3-1 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 2-5-1 (1-2-1 on the road) when tied after the first period and 11-1-0 (8-0-0 on the road) when leading after two periods this season.

    The Red Wings fell to 9-4-2 (6-2-1 at home) when scoring first, 8-3-0 (6-2-0 at home) when tied after one and 2-12-1 (0-4-1 at home) when trailing after the second period in 2021-22.

    The Bruins return home to host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday and Minnesota Wild on Thursday before hitting the road for a pair of games next Saturday (Jan. 8th) in Tampa against the Lightning and next Monday (Jan. 10th) in Washington, D.C. against the Capitals.

    Boston is then currently scheduled to begin a seven-game homestand starting on Jan. 12th in a game that was originally scheduled to be played in Montréal against the Canadiens before the rise of the Omicron variant restricted indoor venue attendance across Canada.

  • DTFR Podcast #202- What Are Your Qualifications?/Let’s Get Kraken

    DTFR Podcast #202- What Are Your Qualifications?/Let’s Get Kraken

    Using Qualifiers to enhance this postseason (it’s a breakdown of the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers and Round Robin action). Plus the Seattle Kraken!

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • DTFR Podcast #199- Cheese!

    DTFR Podcast #199- Cheese!

    Colby’s back, Jack.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • Athanasiou scores two as Detroit tops Boston, 3-1

    The last place in the National Hockey League, Detroit Red Wings, beat the first place in the NHL, Boston Bruins, 3-1, Sunday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena.

    Red Wings goaltender, Jonathan Bernier (12-14-2 record, 2.82 goals against average, .911 save percentage in 32 games played), stopped 39 out of 40 shots against for a .975 SV% in the win.

    Bruins netminder, Tuukka Rask (20-5-6, 2.14 GAA, .911 SV% in 32 games played) made 17 saves on 19 shots faced for an .895 SV% in the loss after starting in Saturday’s, 4-2, win over the Arizona Coyotes.

    Boston fell to 34-11-12 (80 points) on the season, but remained in command of the Atlantic Division, while Detroit improved their record to 14-39-4 (32 points), despite staying in 8th place in the Atlantic.

    The Bruins also fell to 15-9-3 on the road this season and are 0-2-0 against the Red Wings with two games remaining against Detroit in their season series.

    Boston was without the services of Kevan Miller (knee), Connor Clifton (upper body), Joakim Nordstrom (allergy complications) and Jeremy Lauzon (suspension) on Sunday, while Bruce Cassidy made a few minor changes to his lineup.

    Danton Heinen returned to action on the fourth line left wing in Detroit, while Anton Blidh was joined by Urho Vaakanainen as the only healthy scratches for the B’s.

    Vaakanainen was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on an emergency basis in case Brandon Carlo’s flight was delayed.

    On defense, Carlo was back from his personal leave on the second pairing with Torey Krug and John Moore filled in on the right side of the third pairing with Matt Grzelcyk while Lauzon served the first half of his two-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head of Arizona Coyotes forward, Derek Stepan, on Saturday.

    Nordstrom, meanwhile, was retroactively placed on the injured reserve and may be available in time for Wednesday night’s action against the Montreal Canadiens.

    Jaroslav Halak was expected to start in goal for Boston and took part in warmups as usual, but was not given the green light to start the game after feeling ill.

    Instead, Rask made back-to-back starts on back-to-back days while Halak was deemed “available if necessary”. The last time Rask played on consecutive days was Nov. 12-13, 2016.

    He won on both days as the Bruins beat the Coyotes, 2-1, on Nov. 12, 2016 and Colorado Avalanche, 2-0, on Nov. 13, 2016.

    Brad Marchand tripped up Bernier in the trapezoid at 3:01 of the first period and presented Detroit with the game’s first power play, but the Red Wings weren’t able to convert on the skater advantage.

    Midway through the opening frame, Sean Kuraly tripped Valtteri Filppula at 10:55 and put the Red Wings back on the power play, but once more Detroit could not score.

    In the vulnerable minute after special teams play, Trevor Daley was guilty of holding Kuraly at 13:15 and gave Boston their first power play of the afternoon.

    The B’s went on a two-skater advantage after Filppula tripped Jake DeBrusk at 13:57 and presented the Bruins with a 1:18 span of 5-on-3 action, but Bernier stood tall and denied each shot fired at him.

    Late in the period, Justin Abdelkader tripped Charlie Coyle and presented Boston with another power play at 16:10, but Detroit’s penalty killing efforts were well oiled by that point and killed off Abdelkader’s minor infraction with ease.

    Entering the first intermission, the score remained tied, 0-0, and and the Bruins led in shots on goal, 12-6.

    Boston also held the advantage in takeaways (2-1) and faceoff win percentage (65-35), while Detroit led in blocked shots (5-1), giveaways (4-3) and hits (8-5).

    The Red Wings were 0/2 and the B’s were 0/3 on the power play heading into the middle period.

    Early in the middle frame, Brendan Perlini (1) deked around Carlo and snapped a shot off of Rask’s glove and into the twine to give Detroit the first lead of the afternoon, 1-0, at 2:07 of the second period.

    Adam Erne (2) had the only assist on Perlini’s first goal of the season, as well as his first as a Red Wing.

    Midway through the second period, Marchand thought he had tied the game on a tip-in through Bernier’s five-hole off a no-look shot from David Pastrnak initially, but Red Wings head coach, Jeff Blashill, used his coach’s challenge– arguing that Boston had actually been offside entering the zone prior to the goal.

    After review, it was determined that the Bruins were offside as Patrice Bergeron was in the midst of stepping off the ice and into the visiting bench while on a line change as Krug rocketed the puck around the boards.

    The call on the ice was overturned– no goal– and the Red Wings remained in command of a, 1-0, lead with 7:27 remaining in the second period.

    Late in the period, Detroit defender, Patrik Nemeth, held DeBrusk and was sent to the sin bin as a result at 17:04, but the Bruins went unsuccessful on the ensuing power play opportunity.

    Through 40 minutes of action on Sunday afternoon, the Red Wings were still ahead, 1-0, despite trailing Boston in shots on goal, 26-13.

    The B’s held the advantage in faceoff win% (56-44), while Detroit led in blocked shots (9-7), takeaways (3-2), giveaways (12-9) and hits (14-9).

    After two periods of play, the Red Wings were 0/2 and the Bruins were 0/4 on the power play.

    Early in the final frame, Pastrnak caught a Red Wing with a high-stick on a follow through while trying to corral the puck, but failing.

    The follow through went uncalled and actually better positioned Pastrnak to receive a pass from Bergeron as Pastrnak entered the attacking zone alone, faked a shot, then slid a pass to Krug (8) for the one-timer goal that tied the game, 1-1, just 33 seconds into the third period.

    Pastrnak (40) and Bergeron (24) tallied the assists on Krug’s goal.

    After that, things only went downhill for Boston.

    DeBrusk returned the favor from earlier in the game and tripped Daley and gave Detroit a power play at 6:01.

    The Bruins penalty kill lasted a little more than a minute into the special teams play before the Red Wings perfected a quick pass through the slot from Tyler Bertuzzi to Andreas Athanasiou (6) for the one-timer goal as Rask couldn’t keep up with the short-range blast.

    Bertuzzi (20) and Dylan Larkin (25) notched the assists on Athanasiou’s first goal in about 20 games– putting Detroit back into command with the, 2-1, lead at 7:10 of the third period.

    With less than two minutes remaining in the game, Cassidy pulled his netminder for an extra attacker, but the Red Wings quickly capitalized on the open goal-frame in Boston’s own zone.

    Detroit got a quick break out of their zone and sent Christoffer Ehn and Athanasiou on a two-on-one that became an unguarded breakaway– paving the way for Athanasiou (7) to score his second goal of the game and seal the deal on a, 3-1, victory for the Red Wings.

    Ehn (2) and Filip Hronek (19) had the assists on Athanasiou’s empty net goal at 19:31.

    At the final horn, Detroit finished the game with the, 3-1, win despite being outshot by Boston, 40-20.

    The Red Wings finished the afternoon leading in blocked shots (12-10), giveaways (18-14) and hits (23-14), while the Bruins finished Sunday’s action leading in faceoff win% (55-45).

    Detroit went 1/3 and Boston went 0/4 on the power play.

    The B’s dropped to 10-2-6 when tied after one period and 5-8-4 when trailing after two periods this season and had their six-game winning streak snapped by the Red Wings who had lost 10 out of their last 11 games entering Sunday.

    Detroit has now defeated Boston in their last five regular season meetings.

    One consolation for Boston, however, is that they still have won seven out of their last nine games.

    The Bruins home for a two-game homestand against Montreal on Wednesday (Feb. 12th) and Red Wings on Saturday (Feb. 15th) before going on a four-game road trip with stops against the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.

  • Red Wings down Bruins, 4-2

    The Detroit Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2, at Little Caesars Arena on Friday– winning for just the 2nd time in their last 14 games.

    Jonathan Bernier (3-4-1 record, 3.35 goals against average, .891 save percentage in 10 games played) made 26 saves on 28 shots against for a .929 SV% in the win.

    The Red Wings goaltender also had two assists in the effort.

    Boston netminder, Tuukka Rask (7-2-1, 1.99 GAA, .933 SV% in 10 games played) stopped 28 out of 31 shots faced for a .903 SV% in the loss.

    Boston fell to 11-3-2 (24 points) on the season, but still in command of 1st place in the Atlantic Division, while Detroit improved to 5-12-1 (11 points) so far this season. The Red Wings are still 8th in the Atlantic.

    The Bruins fell to 4-3-1 on the road this season, while the Red Wings snapped a four-game losing streak in their win over the B’s.

    Boston also fell to 9-2-1 when scoring the game’s first goal this season and 1-2-1 when trailing after two periods.

    The Bruins were without the services of Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (shoulder), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), Joakim Nordstrom (infection), Par Lindholm (upper body), David Backes (upper body) and Jake DeBrusk (lower body) on Friday, but Miller, Lindholm and Nordstrom all practiced with the team while wearing red no-contact sweaters on Thursday at Warrior Ice Arena.

    Per B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, Nordstrom is the closest among the three to returning to the lineup.

    Miller and Moore have yet to make their 2019-20 season debuts, while DeBrusk is still being evaluated and did not travel with the team to Detroit.

    In an official scoring change made after Tuesday night’s loss in Montreal, Zach Senyshyn had an assist added to Connor Clifton and Anders Bjork’s goals against the Canadiens, yielding two assists for Senyshyn in his season debut in the process.

    Peter Cehlarik and Senyshyn were recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Thursday after Senyshyn and Cameron Hughes were originally assigned to Providence earlier in the week on Wednesday.

    With DeBrusk out of the lineup, Cehlarik took over the second line left wing slot alongside David Krejci at center and Danton Heinen on right wing.

    Senyshyn remained in his third line right wing spot with Bjork and Charlie Coyle.

    Brett Ritchie (upper body) did not take part in warmups prior to Boston’s matchup with the Red Wings and was a late scratch from the lineup.

    In his place, the Bruins went with seven defenders, allowing Steven Kampfer to join the lineup on the fourth line right wing in place of Ritchie– resulting in no healthy scratches for the B’s on Friday.

    Kampfer, however, did not play a shift in Detroit.

    On defense, Cassidy switched his first and third pairings up, moving Clifton to the first defensive pairing with Zdeno Chara to start the game and placing Charlie McAvoy with Matt Grzelcyk on the third pairing.

    Krejci (2) kicked things off with the game’s first goal 69 seconds into the first period after Cehlarik worked the puck into the attacking zone, circled back towards the slot and found Krejci for the wrist shot goal on Bernier’s short side.

    Cehlarik (1) had the only assist on Krejci’s goal and the Bruins jumped out to the, 1-0, lead.

    But it was short lived.

    Roughly 90 seconds after Boston scored, Dylan Larkin (5) skated past Clifton, wrapped around the net and banked the puck off of Patrice Bergeron’s skate and into the twine, tying the game, 1-1, in the process.

    Madison Bowey (3) and Bernier (1) notched the assists on Larkin’s goal as the Red Wings pulled even at 2:41 of the first period.

    A minute later, David Pastrnak hooked Detroit blue liner, Dennis Cholowski and was sent to the penalty box with a minor infraction at 3:40.

    The Bruins managed to kill off Pastrnak’s minor, but went undisciplined midway through the opening frame as Brad Marchand took an interference penalty against Filip Hronek at 11:12.

    Detroit only needed 37 seconds on the ensuing power play to capitalize on the skater advantage with Robby Fabbri (2) snapping a shot past Rask to give the Red Wings their first lead of the night, 2-1.

    Tyler Bertuzzi (9) and Anthony Mantha (7) tallied the assists on Fabbri’s first goal with the Red Wings since being acquired by Detroit in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.

    The Blues acquired Jacob de la Rose in the transaction.

    Fabbri’s first goal of the night came at 11:49 of the first period.

    Less than a minute later, Bowey was guilty of holding Heinen, but the B’s weren’t able to convert on the resulting power play opportunity.

    After one period at Little Caesars Arena, the Red Wings led, 2-1, and shots on goal were even, 12-12.

    Boston led in blocked shots (6-4) and takeaways (1-0) heading into the first intermission, while Detroit held the advantage in giveaways (6-2), hits (9-7) and faceoff win percentage (57-43).

    The Red Wings were 1/2 on the power play heading into the second period and the Bruins were 0/1.

    Pastrnak hooked Larkin 28 seconds into the second period and presented Detroit with an early skater advantage to begin the middle frame.

    Fabbri (3) made sure to capitalize on the power play opportunity, acting as the bumper in the slot and scoring his 2nd goal of the night on a one-timer at 1:30 of the second period.

    He became the 7th player in Red Wings history to score two or more goals in his team debut.

    Bertuzzi (10) and Cholowski (4) had the assists on Fabbri’s 2nd power play goal of the game and Detroit led, 3-1.

    Torey Krug sent the puck over the glass and out of play, yielding an automatic delay of game penalty at 3:30.

    Detroit’s resulting power play opportunity was cut short as Larkin tripped up Chara behind the Boston net at 3:50, resulting in 4-on-4 action for a 1:41 span before the Bruins would have an abbreviated power play.

    The B’s did not score on the skater advantage.

    Midway through the second period, Marchand and Hronek exchanged pleasantries and dropped the gloves. Each received a five-minute major for fighting at 11:16.

    It was just the 2nd fight of the season for the Bruins (previous, Ritchie vs. Barclay Goodrow on Oct. 29th against the San Jose Sharks).

    A couple of minutes later, things were still chippy as Krejci was penalized for roughing Valtteri Filppula at 13:35.

    In response, shortly after failing to convert on the skater advantage, Filppula tripped Pastrnak at 15:56 and elicited a power play chance for the Bruins.

    With only seconds to spare on the advantage, Krug ripped a shot from the point that was deflected by Bergeron (8) in front of the net to cut Detriot’s lead to one-goal.

    Krug (11) and Krejci (5) had the assists on Bergeron’s power play goal as the Bruins trailed, 3-2, at 17:52.

    Through 40 minutes of action in Detroit, the Red Wings led, 3-2, on the scoreboard, but trailed Boston in shots on goal, 24-22– including a, 12-10, advantage for the B’s in the second period alone.

    Detroit held the advantage in blocked shots (10-9), giveaways (12-2), hits (17-14) and faceoff win% (52-48), while Boston led in takeaways (3-0).

    The Red Wings were 2/5 on the skater advantage and the Bruins were 1/3 on the power play entering the third period,

    Early in the final frame, Bowey slashed Marchand and was sent to the sin bin with a minor infraction at 4:34 of the third period.

    Boston did not score on the ensuing power play.

    Neither team found the back of the net until the Bruins pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker with about two minutes left in regulation.

    Shortly thereafter, Mantha (10) pocketed an empty net goal at 18:32 and sealed the deal on the win for the Red Wings.

    Bernier (2) had the only assist on the goal as Detroit finished the night with a, 4-2, win over Boston– dominating the third period in shots on goal, 10-4, bolstering their total shots on net advantage to, 32-28.

    The Red Wings finished Friday night’s action leading in blocked shots (15-11), giveaways (17-7) and hits (27-21), while the Bruins finished the night leading in faceoff win% (51-49).

    Detroit went 2/5 on the power play and Boston went 1/4 on the skater advantage.

    The Bruins return home on Sunday for a two-game homestand against the Philadelphia Flyers (Sunday, Nov. 10th) and the Florida Panthers next Tuesday (Nov. 12th) before traveling to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs next Friday (Nov. 15th).

  • Mantha’s hat trick sinks Bruins, 6-3, in Detroit

    Anthony Mantha scored his first career hat trick in the midst of a five-point night on Sunday as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins, 5-3, at Little Caesars Arena.

    Mantha became the first Red Wings player to record at least five points in a game against Boston since Steve Yzerman did so on Jan. 14, 1989. Yzerman had two goals and three assists that night.

    Taro Hirose, Filip Hronek and Dylan Larkin also had goals for Detroit, while Jake DeBrusk, Brad Marchand and David Backes scored for the Bruins.

    Red Wings goaltender, Jimmy Howard (22-20-5 record, 3.02 goals against average, .909 save percentage in 52 games played) made 31 saves on 34 shots against for a .912 SV% in the win.

    Meanwhile, B’s netminder, Jaroslav Halak (21-11-4, 2.40 GAA, .920 SV% in 39 GP) stopped 22 out of 27 shots faced (.815 SV%) in the loss.

    Boston fell to 47-23-9 (103 points) on the season, but remained in control of 2nd place in the Atlantic Division. Detroit improved to 31-38-10 (72 points) and crept over the Buffalo Sabres for 6th in the Atlantic (Detroit leads in regulation-plus-overtime wins, 28-26).

    The Red Wings finished the season series with the 2-1-1 advantage.

    Kevan Miller returned to the lineup after missing the last 16 games with an upper body injury and was paired on the third defensive pair with Matt Grzelcyk.

    Connor Clifton joined Steven Kampfer as the only healthy scratches, while Chris Wagner (undisclosed) did not take part in warmups and was replaced with Karson Kuhlman.

    Kuhlman was placed on the second line right wing with DeBrusk and David Krejci, while Marcus Johansson slid down to the third line left wing alongside Charlie Coyle and Danton Heinen.

    Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) and John Moore (upper body) remain week-to-week while Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, juggles his lines.

    Six seconds into Sunday night, Torey Krug was penalized for roughing Dylan McIlrath. Detroit did not convert on the ensuing power play, but they did kickstart momentum in their favor.

    Midway through the first period, Mantha (20) fired a one-timer over Halak’s glove on the short side to give the Red Wings the lead, 1-0.

    Larkin (38) and Tyler Bertuzzi (23) had the assists on Mantha’s first goal of the night at 10:26 of the first period.

    A few minutes later, Andreas Athanasiou slashed Krejci and sent the Bruins on their first power play of the night at 13:38. It was unsuccessful and shortly followed by another Boston power play at 17:07 when Christoffer Ehn slashed Backes.

    Grzelcyk cut the B’s skater advantage short when he slashed Athanasiou at 19:04 and the two clubs had three seconds of 4-on-4 action before an abbreviated power play for the Red Wings began.

    As the seconds ticked away, it appeared as though the Bruins would be shorthanded to start the second period until Mantha (21) slapped another one-timer past Halak at 19:59 of the first period.

    Niklas Kronwall (22) and Bertuzzi (24) tallied the assists on Mantha’s power play goal and Detroit led, 2-0, entering the first intermission.

    After one period of play, the Red Wings led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 9-8, in shots on goal. Detroit also held the advantage in blocked shots (6-5), takeaways (2-1), giveaways (7-0) and hits (4-3), while Boston led in face-off win percentage (56-44).

    The Red Wings were 1/2 on the power play entering the second period and the Bruins were 0/2.

    Early in the middle frame, Charlie McAvoy sent Krejci up the ice with DeBrusk on a rush. Krejci sent a lead saucer pass to bring DeBrusk behind the Detroit defense and on his own towards the net, whereby DeBrusk (25) roofed a shot over Howard’s blocker to put the B’s on the scoreboard, 2-1.

    Krejci (49) and McAvoy (20) had the assists on DeBrusk’s goal at 2:01 of the second period.

    McAvoy later sent the puck over the glass and out of play at 8:12 of the second period and received an automatic delay of game penalty.

    Nearing the end of the resulting penalty kill, Brandon Carlo worked the puck up to Marchand as the Bruins winger entered the zone on a two-on-one with Patrice Bergeron.

    Marchand slid the puck over to Bergeron, awaiting a return pass while Bergeron dragged the rubber biscuit around Mantha as the Red Wings forward dove in a desperate attempt to breakup a passing lane.

    Bergeron pulled the puck to his backhand and sent it across the slot for Marchand (35) to blast a one-timer past Howard as the Detroit goaltender slid across the crease.

    The goal was Marchand’s 26th career shorthanded goal and put Marchand in sole possession of the Bruins franchise record for most career shorthanded goals with the club (Rick Middleton is now 2nd with 25).

    Bergeron (46) and Carlo (7) notched the assists on Marchand’s shorthanded goal at 9:50 of the second period.

    About five minutes later, Luke Witkowski skated across the ice and railed Joakim Nordstrom with a huge hit along the boards.

    Noel Acciari took exception to the non-call as Witkowski charged an otherwise unsuspecting Nordstrom and exchanged fisticuffs with the Detroit skater.

    Both players were assessed five-minute majors for fighting, while Acciari picked up an extra minor penalty for instigating and an automatic ten-minute misconduct as a result at 14:24.

    Johansson served Acciari’s minor penalty while the Bruins were shorthanded, but Detroit’s ensuing power play wouldn’t last long as 20 seconds later, Athanasiou was called for interference at 14:44.

    Neither team converted on the ensuing 4-on-4 action and abbreviated skater advantage for Boston thereafter.

    With one minute remaining in the second period, Miller blasted a shot from the point that Backes (7) tipped behind Howard to give the Bruins their first lead of the night, 3-2.

    Miller (7) and Krejci (50) had the assists on Backes’ goal at 19:00 of the second period.

    Krejci reached the 50-assist plateau for the third time in his career (51 assists in 2008-09, 50 assists in 2013-14) with the secondary assist on the goal as Boston carried the, 3-2, lead into the second intermission.

    Both teams were tied in shots on goal, 17-17, and takeaways, 2-2, after 40 minutes of play, while the Bruins led in blocked shots (15-8), hits (9-8) and face-off win% (53-47). The Red Wings led in giveaways (14-2) through two periods.

    Detroit entered the third period 1/4 on the power play, while Boston was 0/3 on the skater advantage.

    DeBrusk was penalized for interference 69 seconds into the third period and sent the Red Wings on the power play. Eight seconds later, Detroit tied the game.

    Mantha (22) completed his first career hat trick on yet another one-timer– this time after Bertuzzi completed the pass through the low slot– and the Red Wings tied the game, 3-3, at 1:17 of the third period.

    Bertuzzi (25) and Athanasiou (21) recorded the primary and secondary assists, respectively, on the goal as the hats were cleaned up off the ice at Little Caesars Arena.

    On the ensuing face-off, Kronwall worked the puck up to Athanasiou through the neutral zone as Athanasiou sped into the attacking zone and dropped a pass back to Hirose (1) for the one-timer from the slot.

    Hirose notched his first career NHL goal and the Red Wings led, 4-3, at 1:25 of the third period.

    Athanasiou (22) and Kronwall (23) had the assists, but Detroit was not done scoring yet.

    Midway through the third, Hronek (5) fired a one-timer from the face-off dot to the right of Halak past the Bruins goaltender and into the twine to make it, 5-3, Red Wings.

    Mantha (22) notched his fourth point of the evening with the only assist on Hronek’s goal at 12:03 of the third period.

    About a minute later, Hirose cut a rut to the penalty box for slashing Coyle at 13:17, but Boston’s power play didn’t capitalize on the skater advantage.

    With less than four minutes remaining in regulation, Cassidy pulled Halak in favor of an extra attacker.

    At 19:02 of the third period, Larkin (32) put Detroit in command of the, 6-3, victory with an empty net goal that was assisted by Mantha (23) and Hronek (15).

    Upon the sound of the final horn, the Red Wings took home two points in a regulation win, despite trailing the Bruins in shots on goal (34-28), blocked shots (16-14) and face-off win% (52-48), but led in giveaways (16-4).

    Detroit finished Sunday night 2/5 on the skater advantage, while the B’s went 0/4 on the power play.

    Boston finishes the season swinging through Columbus on April 2nd, making a stop in Minnesota on April 4th and wrapping up the regular season on April 6th at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

  • Bruins at Red Wings Preview: 3/31/2019

    The Boston Bruins (47-22-9 record, 103 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) visit the Detroit Red Wings (30-38-10, 70 points, 7th in the Atlantic Division) at Little Caesars Arena for the final time this season on Sunday.

    Boston has points in 17 out of their last 19 meetings against Detroit, amassing a 15-2-2 record in that span. This season, however, the Bruins are 1-1-1 this season against the Red Wings– most recently suffering a, 4-2, loss at TD Garden on Dec. 1st.

    The B’s also lost, 3-2, in overtime at Detroit on Nov. 21st and downed the Red Wings, 8-2, on home ice on Oct. 13th this season.

    As the season shifts its focus to the month of April and the looming 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Bruins look to wrap up the month of March with ten wins. They are 9-5-0 entering Sunday in March, while the Detroit is 7-6-1 this month.

    The Red Wings are coming off a, 4-0, shutout over the New Jersey Devils on Friday, while the Bruins are coming off a, 4-1, loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

    Bruce Cassidy is expected to make some lineup adjustments with Kevan Miller (upper body) returning to Cassidy’s blue line after missing the last 16 games and likely will suit up alongside his teammate, Matt Grzelcyk, on the third defensive pairing.

    As a result of Miller’s return, Connor Clifton will join Steven Kampfer as the only healthy scratches for the B’s on Sunday.

    Karson Kuhlman was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on emergency basis as Boston kicks off a three-game road trip before their final game of the regular season next Saturday at home as Chris Wagner was not on the ice for warmups in Detroit.

    With Wagner likely out of the action against the Red Wings, Kuhlman took rushes alongside Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci, with Cassidy reuniting the Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak line as his top line.

    Marcus Johansson, Charlie Coyle and Danton Heinen are expected to form the third line with Joakim Nordstrom, Noel Acciari and David Backes filling their usual roles on the fourth line.

    John Moore (upper body) and Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) remain week-to-week.

    After Tuukka Rask allowed three goals against in Saturday’s loss to the Panthers, Cassidy will start Jaroslav Halak (21-10-4 record, 2.33 goals against average, .923 save percentage in 38 games played) in Boston’s second game in as many nights.

    Red Wings head coach, Jeff Blashill, will be without the services of Luke Glendening (undisclosed) and Jonathan Bernier (upper body).

    As a result, Detroit recalled Dominic Turgeon and Kaden Fulcher from the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) with Turgeon, 23, likely to center the fourth line and Fulcher, 20, backing up Jimmy Howard (21-20-5, 3.02 GAA, .909 SV% in 51 GP) in net on Sunday.

    Turgeon has 6-13–19 totals in 69 games for the Griffins this season and was the 63rd overall pick of the 2014 NHL Draft by the Red Wings.

    Fulcher spent part of this season with the Toledo Walleye (ECHL) and amassed a 15-7-6 record, 3.00 GAA and .899 SV% in 28 games played prior to being reassigned to Grand Rapids. He signed as an undrafted free agent with Detroit in October 2017.

    With Glendening missing the action against Boston, the Red Wings will not have a single player play a full 82-game season for the first time since 1996-97 when Steve Yzerman led Detroit in games played with 81.

    Bernier was hurt in the second period on Friday and replaced by Howard prior to the start of the third period against New Jersey.

    Dylan Larkin leads the Red Wings with 31-37–68 totals in 72 games played this season.

  • DTFR Podcast #149- SnapFace with Zach Boychuk

    DTFR Podcast #149- SnapFace with Zach Boychuk

    We’re less than a month away from the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, so let’s take a gander at how things should shape up for the Central Division.

    The Tampa Bay Lightning clinched the first postseason berth this season, Quinn Hughes signed his entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks, Shane Wright was granted exceptional status and the DTFR Duo presented the first few individual season awards.

    *Zach Boychuk wasn’t actually on… …this time around, anyway.*

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show onPatreon.